Sealing Jaws – Easy Seal™ Archives - Greener Corporation

Sealing Jaws Optimize Package Quality & Productivity on Flow Wrappers

Michael Wojtech — Sun, 23 Jun 2024 16:00:51 +0000

Sealing jaws on flow wrappers are not standard, universal components; they should be designed according to the unique features of your packaging operation. When you work with Greener Corporation, we integrate your machinery design and condition, packaging materials, seal integrity requirements, and other circumstances to design and manufacture sealing jaws that optimize package quality and productivity.

Custom Designed Sealing Jaw Designs

We have developed a wide variety of sealing features and will recommend customized designs that solve current packaging problems, prevent future issues, and create production efficiencies you may not have thought possible.

Serration Pattern

The serration pattern on your sealing machines should be designed for your seal packaging conditions. Greener corp can match your current serration profile or update serration geometry to improve results.

Easy Seal™️ Jaws

Easy Seal™️ jaws for heat seal and cold seal applications feature QUICK-CHANGE inserts that reduce sealing jaw changeover times, improve seal quality, and decrease parts costs.

Optional Easy Seal™️ FLEX jaw inserts accommodate the extra thickness at the fin seal fold to resolve problems with leakers and crushed or split seals.

Fracture Elimination Design (FRED)

Fracture Elimination Design (FRED) alleviates pressure on the leading edge of the seal, where the upper and lower sealing jaws first make contact, to prevent cutting and splitting of the package.

Seal Reduction Profile

Our Seal Reduction Profile reduces seal width to decrease film costs without sacrificing seal quality.

Sealing Jaw Materials

Greener corporation will recommend specialized materials to optimize performance or to provide other desired functional characteristics that are not available with basic steel sealing jaws.

High Durability Stainless Steel sealing machines resist wear and damage to help maintain quality seals.

Dura-Therm sealing jaws provide exceptional heat transfer and thermal consistency across the sealing face, and also provides flexibility and durability on our Easy Seal™️ FLEX jaws.

Kevlar® Composite sealing jaws provide a flexible, resilient sealing face on Easy Seal™️ FLEX for cold seal.

Project Development

Greener corp’s project development experts will help you create customized sealing jaw designs for packaging projects such as new film qualifications, changes in package size, and cross-platform sealing jaw standardization.

To learn how custom sealing jaws and technical support can improve your package quality and productivity, contact Greener Corporation. We provide integrated parts and technical services worldwide.

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Sealing Leaks at the Triangle of Death on Flow Wrappers and Vertical Baggers

Michael Wojtech — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 15:06:28 +0000

Are you consistently meeting your standards for package seal integrity and production speeds on your flow wrappers and vertical baggers? This Greener Tech Bite explains causes and solutions for a common package sealing problem where high integrity seals are required—the unsealed gap where the lap seal or fin seal intersects the end seal, sometimes referred to as the “Triangle of Death.”

For anyone who has struggled to seal these gaps, this nickname is no exaggeration.

Package Geometry

On a typical package, the end seal thickens from two to three layers where the vertical sealing overlaps, or from two to four layers where the fin seal folds over. On packages with gussets this transition occurs multiple times, creating, in effect, a series of plateaus and abrupt valleys.

Packaging Material Structure

To consistently seal the gaps created at these transition points, the structure of your flexible packaging material must be appropriate for your package geometry, required machine speeds, and other conditions.

The Sealing Process

But limitations within the seal packaging process can cause leaks at the Triangle of Death to persist.

Temperature Cycles

As explained in our previous Tech Bite, sealing jaw temperatures fluctuate as each package is sealed, and temperatures vary more widely if production slows down or is interrupted.

Seal Range

Machine speeds are limited by the need to keep these temperature cycles within the seal range of your packaging material.

Heat, Pressure, and Time

With adequate heat, pressure, and dwell time, sealant layers designed with the necessary mass and flow properties—shown here in yellow—can flow into and seal off the Triangle of Death.

But sealing jaw temperatures must remain below the point where they distort or melt the exterior packaging material layers, shown here in blue.

Sealing pressure helps to move sealant into these gaps, but too much pressure can crush or split the seal, especially at thicker sections where the lap seal, fin seal, or gussets intersect

It can be difficult to sustain the balance of heat and pressure required to seal these gaps while also maintaining required machine speeds.

Sealing Jaw Design and Setup

Here’s where improving the design and setup of your sealing jaws can help you seal the Triangle of Death.

Dura-Therm

Jaws made from Dura-Therm, a highly conductive alloy, reduce temperature cycles so you can maintain seal quality at higher speeds.

Serration Pattern

Sealing jaw serration patterns are not universal; your sealing jaw serrations should be designed to optimize sealing pressure and heat transfer for your specific packaging conditions.

XR™* Sealing Jaws

Greener’s XR™* Sealing Jaws combine the benefits of Dura-Therm and our unique serration geometry to seal leaks at the Triangle of Death and:

Improve Package Quality
Increase Machine Speed
Run Sustainable Materials & Hard to Seal Packages
Reduce Flexible Packaging Costs

Easy Seal™ FLEX

Easy Seal™ FLEX Jaws accommodate the extra thickness at the fin seal fold to further optimize sealing pressure and heat.

Setup Procedures and Training

Once you determine the optimal sealing jaw design for your application, establish proper sealing jaw setup procedures and provide training to consistently produce high-quality seal packaging.

If you experience sealing problems at the Triangle of Death, consult with our experts at Greener corp about packaging material specifications, sealing jaw designs, and setup procedures for your flow wrappers and vertical baggers.

Greener Corporation provides integrated parts and technical service solutions worldwide.

* patent pending

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Sustainable Packaging Materials 2: Running Mono Polyethylene & Mono Polypropylene on Flow Wrappers & Vertical FFS Baggers

Michael Wojtech — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 14:51:49 +0000

Most traditional flexible packaging is made from multiple layers of different materials that can’t be easily separated. Mono polyethylene (PE) and mono polypropylene (PP) are produced from the same or similar materials, and are the most common polymer-based sustainable packaging materials we’ve encountered so far.

Segment 2 in our Sustainability Series explores the properties that can make mono PE and mono PP more challenging to form, cut, and seal, and presents solutions for maintaining package quality and machine speeds when running these materials on flow wrappers and vertical FFS baggers.

FORMING Mono PE & Mono PP Packaging Materials

During the forming process, the thicker, stiffer nature of mono PE and mono PP structures creates greater tension in the web. On both flow wrappers and vertical baggers, a power film drive will help keep these structures tracking properly.

Specially designed formers are often required to maintain consistently sized packages that are free from creasing and scoring.

CUTTING Mono PE & Mono PP Packaging Materials

The mechanical properties of these thicker and stiffer structures can also make cutting more challenging.

Knives designed for your specific packaging material will improve cutting performance.

Special features such as an extreme angle zig zag knife can improve openability for the consumer.

SEALING Mono PE & Mono PP Packaging Materials

As explained in our previous Tech Bite, the effective seal range of a packaging material is defined as the difference between the seal initiation temperature and the distortion temperature.

With all flexible packaging materials, machine speeds are limited by the need to fit normal sealing jaw temperature cycles within the seal range.

Many current mono PE and mono PP structures have a lower distortion temperature, which decreases their seal range.

And since these mono structures tend to be thicker and stiffer, higher sealing jaw temperatures are needed for heat to reach and activate the sealant layer. This further reduces the seal range.

With sealing jaw temperature increases limited by the lower distortion point, reductions to machine speed may be necessary to provide adequate dwell time for seal initiation.

Sealing Solutions

Advanced sealing jaw designs can help mitigate sealing issues encountered with mono PE and mono PP materials. Sealing jaws made from Greener Corp’s proprietary Dura-Therm alloy provide more responsive and consistent thermal conductivity across the sealing face to reduce temperature cycle fluctuations and help maintain seal quality and machine speeds.

Temperatures don’t spike as high when the machine idles, or drop as far when the line restarts.

Customized sealing jaw serration patterns and options such as Easy Seal™ FLEX jaws can also reduce temperature cycles by optimizing thermal transfer and sealing pressure.

In addition to sealing jaw design, optimized adjustment procedures and training are critically important for maintaining seal quality and machine speeds on flow wrappers and vertical baggers.

To learn more about sustainable flexible packaging materials, advanced part designs, machine adjustments, and training, contact Greener Corporation.

We provide integrated parts, industrial packaging solutions and technical services worldwide.

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Easy Seal™️ QUICK-CHANGE Jaws: Fast, Accurate Changeovers on Flow Wrappers

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 22:44:16 +0000

Damaged or poorly performing sealing jaws on flow wrappers can cost you hours of lost production time. Greener Corporation’s Easy Seal™️ QUICK-CHANGE Jaws decrease changeover times from hours to minutes, and at the same time improve seal quality, reduce part replacement costs, and create opportunities for standardization.

Decrease Downtime

The initial Easy Seal™ installation includes bases, QUICK-CHANGE inserts, knives, and anvils.

When jaws are replaced the heaters and thermocouples, if utilized, stay in the bases, which remain accurately positioned on the shafts. New Easy™️ Seal QUICK-CHANGE inserts fit precisely into the bases, so the serrations are already aligned. Making the packaging equipment installation quick and consistently accurate.

New knives and anvils can then be adjusted to cut, and you can be back up and running in less than an hour total.

Improve Seal Quality

Easy Seal™️ QUICK-CHANGE Jaws also improve seal quality by providing more consistent, accurate set-ups, and through options such as Easy Seal FLEX, which helps eliminate leaks and reduce end seal fracturing by automatically compensating for extra film layers at the fin seal, and Dura-Therm material, which provides more consistent, responsive heat transfer.

Reduce Parts Costs

Easy Seal™ also reduces parts costs, since QUICK-CHANGE Jaw inserts are less expensive to replace than standard jaws.

Standardization

And Easy Seal™ creates opportunities to standardize jaw and knife designs and set-up procedures across different flow wrapper makes, models, and lines to further improve seal quality, decrease parts inventories, and reduce costs.

Greener will engineer Easy Seal™ QUICK-CHANGE Jaws to match your specific packaging requirements for heat and cold seal applications.

To learn more contact Greener Corporation. We provide integrated parts and technical services worldwide.

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Diagnosing Packaging Problems – Part 2: Inconsistent Pressure & Leaks

admin — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 23:52:44 +0000

In Part 1 of this Greener Tech Bite we diagnosed potential causes and solutions for the the splitting and fracturing in the upper left corner of this package.

Here in Part 2 we’ll diagnose problems with uneven pressure and leakers that can persist after adjustments and sealing jaw design changes have eliminated the splitting.

Inconsistent Pressure & Leaks

The basic design of a flow wrapper package can make it difficult to maintain consistent pressure across the seal. The double thickness of film of the fin seal can act as a bridge and keep the sealing jaws from applying adequate pressure. Leakers often develop where the package transitions from two to four layers and at the corners.

Balancing Pressure

Adjustments made to seal off these leaks often create excess pressure points and could easily bring back the splitting problem we resolved in Part 1. Providing the consistent pressure needed to seal off leaks without damaging the package can be difficult to achieve.

We’ve worked with clients that found it especially challenging to maintain this balance when trialing or transitioning to mono or paper-based packaging materials, which can be more sensitive.

Adjustments & Sealing Jaw Designs

Optimizing machine adjustments and sealing jaw designs will widen your operating window, so you can consistently provide the pressure to seal off leakers without damaging the package.

Here are three recommendations:

1. Heat, Time, & Pressure

First, make sure you understand the function of and relationships between heat, time, and pressure, so that you can make more informed, more effective adjustments on your packaging machinery. You can review these relationships on our previous post, Adjusting Heat, Time, and Pressure.

2. Product Feed & Package Formation

Also review the recommendations for wrinkles, clearance, and alignment in Part 1 of this Tech Bite. Even if you’re not experiencing splitting and fracturing, refinements to the product feed and package formation process will create more consistent packages with better seal integrity.

3. Easy Seal™ FLEX

In Part 1 we explained the importance of sealing jaw design for providing consistent sealing pressure. Another design option is Easy Seal™ FLEX jaws, which adapt to the extra thickness of the fin seal fold to seal off leakers and reduce excess pressure points that can damage and split the package.

Easy Seal also provides additional benefits that improve seal quality.

On heat seal applications, Dura-Therm inserts provide more consistent heat transfer to seal off leakers across the sealing face without damaging the package.

And Easy Seal QUICK-CHANGE inserts provide faster, more accurate sealing jaw changeovers.

Diagnosing Packaging Problems

Parts 1 and 2 of this Tech Bite demonstrate the need for an integrated approach to diagnosing and solving problems, one that optimizes part designs, adjustment procedures, and training for the whole packaging process.

If you’d like help developing solutions that improve package quality and productivity, contact Greener Corporation. We provide integrated parts and technical services worldwide.

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Case Study: Rejected Packages Delay Production – Sealing Problems Diagnosed & Solved

Mark Green — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 23:08:06 +0000

When sealing problems kept a packager of energy bars from meeting their production requirements, they contacted Greener to see if we could help develop a solution. They explained to one of our technical experts that rejects and downtime due to split or unsealed packages had reached the point of crisis.

Mechanics were constantly monitoring and readjusting their horizontal flow wrappers and struggling to keep them running. He recommended a line evaluation and training as the fastest and most effective way to diagnose the causes of their problems and implement lasting solutions. The client agreed, and arranged for him to visit their facility.

Diagnostic Questions

WHAT is the Problem?

Once on site, he learned more about the split and unsealed packages that were delaying production.

WHERE do Problems Occur?

Problems occurred on both the leading and the trailing seals, with all the heat seal and cold seal films that they ran, and on all wrappers, which were the same make and model.

WHEN do Problems Occur?

The split and unsealed packages occurred intermittently but repeatedly. Even after set up was adjusted and production was restored, the problems returned.

Sealing Jaws – He discovered that the serration pattern on the sealing jaws, which was the same on all wrappers, was too sharp. It was difficult to apply adequate sealing pressure without splitting the film. Reducing spring pressure to eliminate splits often caused poor seal quality. The serration design, he determined, must be updated to solve this problem.

Mechanics had to overly rely on spring pressure adjustments on these machines. Accurately setting the clearance between the jaws was difficult, since it required the bearing blocks to be shimmed.

The one-piece design of the current, drum-style jaws made them difficult to set up, since the head had to be disassembled to install or remove them from the shafts.

WHAT has Changed?

He also found that variations in product size had a larger impact on seal quality than the client realized. The sealing jaws clipped the edges of bars that were too tall and pushed product into the seal area, resulting in poor seal quality and unsealed packages.

They had ordered new processing equipment to eliminate the oversized bars, but it had not yet been delivered.

Solutions

He recommended that the client purchase new, redesigned sealing jaws for one wrapper and evaluate the results. But their packaging problems were urgent, and they decided to convert all eight machines right away.

Sealing Jaw Design

For each wrapper, Greener would manufacture and return to install:
• New shafts that remained on the machine when jaws were changed, along with new bearings and pressure springs
• Easy Seal™ bases
• Easy Seal™ jaw inserts

The new sealing jaw design, with QUICK-CHANGE inserts, an updated serration profile, and FLEX sealing faces, would improve seal quality, provide fast, accurate set-up, and reduce lead times for replacement parts.

Also included were custom, stainless steel shim kits to improve the ease and accuracy of clearance adjustments. The currently used brass shims were malleable and often had burred edges.

Results

Sealing Jaws

After he returned and installed the new sealing jaws, problems with split seals caused by sealing jaw design were eliminated. Mechanics no longer needed to monitor each wrapper and fewer adjustments were needed. Production levels increased.

Product contamination from oversized bars still caused some problems, but this issue will be resolved when the new processing equipment is online.

Training

Mechanics reported that the training helped them better understand why problems were occurring and how to correct them.

If you’d like help troubleshooting your packaging problems, contact Greener Corporation. We develop and deliver full process solutions, worldwide.

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Sealing Over Extra Layers of Film at the End Seal (part 4 of 4): Optimizing Crimper & Sealing Jaw Design

Matt Wojtech — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 00:16:24 +0000

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for the design of crimpers and sealing jaws on horizontal flow wrappers and vertical baggers; they should be specified according to the packaging film, products, and conditions of your packaging operation.

This post, the last in our four-part series, reviews design options for crimpers and jaws. The optimal combination of serration patterns, materials, and special features can dramatically improve seal quality and productivity when sealing across extra film layers at the end seal.

Transitions on the end seal between varying thicknesses of film created by the fin seal, lap seal, gussets, and wrinkles make it more difficult to maintain the operating window necessary for quality seals:

Too little pressure leaves gaps, or leakers, at these transition zones.
Excess pressure can easily crush or split the end seal.
Overheating distorts the seal and can cause poor hot tack, where the film springs back open at transition zones or “moons,” before the seal can set.

The end results can be packages that fail to protect the product or have little appeal to consumers, as well as lost production time spent attempting to meet package quality standards.

Crimper and Sealing Jaw Design Options

What combination of serrations patterns, special options, and materials will perform best for your packaging application? Start by identifying problem areas and unmet goals. Your objectives might include:

Reducing or eliminating end seal leaks
Preventing crushing or splitting at the end seal
Improving package appearance
Increasing line speeds
Decreasing downtime associated with package quality issues
Achieving quality seals where different package sizes and styles, or different films, are run on the same machine

Crimper and sealing jaw design, as well as the consistency and quality with which they have been manufactured, have a major impact on the distribution of the pressure and heat necessary to achieve quality end seals across varying thickness of film. The optimal design depends upon the unique combination of variables of your packaging operation, such as equipment design and condition, product, packaging film, and line speeds.

Serration Pattern

Sealing pressure is applied by the force of the crimpers or jaws coming together with the film between them, and controlled through machine adjustments. In addition, as the film is drawn across and stretched over the serrations, the resulting “shearing” action helps push the inner sealant layer into gaps that would otherwise cause leaks.

The precise geometry of the serration pattern should be matched to the structure and thickness of the film in use, the presence of a lap or fin seal, gussets, persistent wrinkles, and other factors such as machinery design and condition and line speeds.

Special Design Features

A number of special designs for crimpers and sealing jaws work in combination with the proper serration pattern to provide more consistent, controlled pressure across end seals by accommodating extra layers from a fin or lap seal, gussets, or unavoidable wrinkles.

Flexible Sealing Faces

Easy Seal™ FLEX Inserts conform to extra film layers, allowing crimpers to apply the consistent pressure and heat (where applicable) required to effectively seal gaps at transition zone between varying thicknesses of film without distorting the package. These flexible, durable sealing faces can be provided for heat seal or cold seal applications.

Easy Seal ™ QUICK-CHANGE Inserts facilitate the precision serration alignment necessary to apply sufficient pressure across multiple thicknesses of film at the end seal without crushing or splitting the package, and at the same time reduce crimper changeover time from hours to minutes.

Fin Seal Relief

A precision relief in the serration pattern can be provided to accommodate the extra layers of film from the fin seal. A fin seal relief works best on applications where the fin seal size and tracking is consistent.

Fracture Elimination Design (FRED)

With Fracture Elimination Design, a special serration profile on the leading edge of the crimper sealing face helps eliminate excess pressure that can damage or cut through the packaging film.

Custom Designs

New design solutions can be created to match your production needs or for special projects such as new film qualifications, changes in package size, and cross-platform crimper standardization.

Materials

Optimizing the materials that crimper and sealing jaw materials are made from helps produce the consistent pressure and heat transfer (where applicable) necessary to achieve quality seals.

Durability

Wear and damage to the sealing faces of crimpers and sealing jaws can make it challenging or even impossible to transfer the proper pressure and heat across the end seal. This wear may not be readily visible on the sealing face, but becomes obvious when crimpers or jaws are evaluated using carbon paper (as shown). For more details see Assessing Crimper and Sealing jaw Set-Up.

Crimper and sealing jaw materials that resist wear and damage can be specified to match the variables of your packaging operation, for flexible or standard sealing faces and for heat seal or cold seal applications. There is no need to sacrifice durability in order to achieve quality seals.

Heat: Consistency and Responsiveness

On heat seal applications, heat and pressure work together with time to produce quality seals. Consistent, responsive heat transfer across the length of the sealing face eliminates the need to increase temperature and pressure settings to the point where the film is distorted or crushed in order to seal gaps between varying thicknesses of film on the end seal. The crimper and sealing jaw set-up required for achieving quality seals and meeting production goals becomes much easier to establish and maintain.

Crimpers and jaws made from Dura-Therm provide the consistent temperature profiles and the long-term durability necessary for sealing across extra layers of film at the end seal. (For more details see our post on Heat.)

Optimizing Crimper and Sealing Jaw Design

The best design for your crimpers or sealing jaws depends on the operational goals of your packaging operation. Taking a little time to evaluate your needs is a worthy endeavor that can significantly improve package quality and productivity.

Greener’s technical experts can help you refine your goals and determine the solutions that will accomplish your objectives. If you would like assistance with this process or have questions, please contact us and visit the Solutions page of our website.

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Troubleshooting Intermittent Seal Quality Issues

Mark Green — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 00:02:36 +0000

When end seal issues such as leakers or splitting occur, an important initial step is to determine where, and how often, the trouble shows up. For problems that occur inconsistently—perhaps leakers on every other package, or splits only on the top or trailing end seals of the package—you need to determine if the bad seals show up randomly or according to a pattern. Do the problems occur on every package? On both ends of the package?

Start out by collecting a series of packages produced by the machine during production conditions. Number the packages sequentially and mark the machine flow direction. If you are working on a horizontal wrapper with multiple crimpers, label each pair (ex: A, B) and mark each seal according to the set of crimpers it came from. Now you can trace the problem seals back to the place they occur.

Following is a list of procedures that will help you troubleshoot intermittent seal problems. You can find additional details by clicking on the links or images in each section:

• Clean the crimpers or sealing jaws. Product build-up can cause random, hard to trace problems by preventing the sealing faces from applying adequate pressure and heat.

Learn about custom scrapers and other methods to clean product build-up without damaging serrations.

• Look for backlash on rotary crimper heads. When problem seals can’t be consistently traced back to a particular location on the sealing face or to a specific pair of crimpers, backlash is often the culprit. You should not be able to move the upper shaft independently of the lower shaft. It only takes a little movement to cause a problem, especially if the crimpers have horizontal serrations (parallel to the knife slot).

Get more details on diagnosing and eliminating backlash.

• Assess the condition and set-up of the crimpers or sealing jaws. Use carbon or carbonless paper to make sure the crimpers or jaws are providing even pressure across the sealing face and that the serrations are properly meshed. Problems may be isolated to just one part of the seal or to only one pair of crimpers (where multiple pairs are used).

Discover how carbon or carbonless paper help reveal hidden wear, damage, and set-up issues.

Review clearance and pressure adjustments on horizontal wrappers.

• Check the temperature of all sealing faces along their entire functional length with a pyrometer, making sure that all heaters are functioning properly.

Learn how to achieve more consistent, responsive heat transfer.

• Check the knife set-up. On horizontal wrappers a knife that that is adjusted too far out can, especially at higher speeds, push the crimpers apart as they rotate through such that the pressure applied to the leading seal of the following package is reduced and leakers develop. You can often hear, or put your hands on the machine and feel, when a knife is striking the anvil with excessive force.

Explore methods to optimize knife and anvil set-up.

• Upgrade crimper and sealing jaw design. Sometimes inconsistent seal quality results when operating conditions such as line speed, machine condition, and the film in use combine to push the edge of what works and what doesn’t, leaving little room for variations that occur during production. In these cases alternative crimper and sealing jaw designs can create a larger, more forgiving operating window where consistent, quality seals are produced.

Crimpers and Sealing Jaws made from Dura-Therm material provide more consistent, responsive heat transfer without sacrificing durability.

Customized Serration patterns and sealing jaw designs such as FRED (Fracture Relief Design) can be matched to your specific product, film, and operating conditions to maximize seal quality and consistency.

FLEX sealing faces for heat seal and cold seal films accommodate extra film layers at the fin seal to help seal off leakers and prevent crushing and splitting without sacrificing durability.

Easy Seal™ QUICK-CHANGE crimper inserts for heat seal and cold seal films facilitate more precise set-ups and reduce change-over time from hours to minutes.

Contact Greener Corporation for help with troubleshooting any type of sealing, cutting, or forming problems that impact your package quality and productivity.

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Case Study: Packaging Material Cost Reduction

Matt Wojtech — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 20:38:51 +0000

Project Goals

The corporate engineering department at a large, international company commenced a project to reduce material costs for a variety of products that are individually packaged on horizontal flow wrappers. Greener Corporation was invited to participate in a series of meetings that defined the project’s initial goals:

To reduce the cut-off length for each package by reducing the overall seal width, thus allowing the product envelope to remain unchanged.

To achieve material savings without degrading seal packaging integrity or productivity levels.

To achieve a project payback period of twelve months or less.

Project Design

The project goals required a comprehensive approach—redesigned sealing crimpers as well as critical support services and expertise that would ensure successful implementation. Greener evaluated the packaging films and multiple flow wrapper makes and models in use at the company’s worldwide production facilities, and developed a proposal that would meet the project goals and provide additional benefits:

Crimpers with a reduced seal width and Greener’s Seal Reduction Profile—a special, horizontal serration pattern—would maintain, and in some cases even improve, seal integrity and strength.

On cold seal applications, durable and flexible Kevlar® sealing faces would help eliminate leaks and film fracturing at the fin seal and corners.

Easy Seal™ QUICK-CHANGE inserts would standardize set up procedures and reduce set up time from hours to minutes.

Narrower knives and anvils would further reduce the overall seal width and create additional material savings.

Standardized crimper, knife, and anvil designs would produce more consistent results across multiple machines, lines, and facilities. Set up and adjustment procedures could be streamlined; positive results would be more easily replicated; parts inventories could be reduced.

In order to ensure a smooth transition to the new package design and the consistent, long term success of the project, Greener also:

Participated in the initial installation and trials of the new design.

Helped develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) and provided training for set up, adjustment, troubleshooting, and maintenance procedures.

Project Results

In a series of limited trials the new, standardized crimper and knife design proved successful—material costs were reduced, while seal integrity and productivity levels met or exceeded previous levels. A production trial yielded similar positive results. Greener designed and manufactured crimpers with the Seal Reduction Profile and provided supporting services for all applicable production lines at the test plant, and project was successfully implemented.

The Material Cost Reduction Project was established by corporate engineering as a Recommended Best Practice, and Greener has been enlisted to help implement the project at many of the packaged goods company’s facilities around the world.

Whether you need to brainstorm project possibilities or already have specific goals that you’d like to achieve, we welcome the opportunity to collaborate with you. Please direct ideas and questions to your Greener service and sales representatives, or contact us.

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